The Alliance for Quality Education says Gov. Andrew Cuomo is misleading the public in a debate about school funding. The school advocacy group has published a new report that criticizes the governor's proposed education spending plan and his attempts to defend it.
The report called "Alternative Facts and Historical Fiction: Fact Checking Governor Cuomo on School Aid" does not mince words. It accuses Cuomo of distorting his record with education funding, like his claim that school aid funding has grown by $6 billion during his tenure. The report finds that number is actually closer to $4 billion. And while they acknowledge that Cuomo is proposing spending a record amount on education in his budget, they say previous administrations actually enacted larger year-to-year increases.
The critical report is part of the Alliance for Quality Education's multi-year campaign to get billions more in school aid for districts like Utica that suffer from high poverty rates. They say Cuomo's budget falls short of what's needed to help those schools provide a sound education.
